I was looking for somewhere to put some articles relating to the time of the provisional suspensions and Top Ups in 2015 hope you don’t mind me putting them here to remind some here, how Mitch Brown, Walla and Hartley first came to be on the EFC list as Top Ups. A bit of Saga History that some have forgotten apparently:
Clint Jones, Mitch Brown, Jared Petrenko among Essendon top-up players for NAB Challenge
Jon Ralph and Paul Amy, Herald Sun
February 17, 2015 1:59pm
ESSENDON says it has recruited all but a handful of its 20 NAB Challenge top-up players after yesterday signing five ex-AFL delisted players on Tuesday.
Ex-Geelong forward Mitch Brown, Melbourne on-baller James Magner, St Kilda tagger Clint Jones, ex-Demon Mitch Clisby and Adelaide’s Jared Petrenko all agreed to play for the Dons.
BOMBERS TURN TO RECYCLED RING-INS
They need only to pass medical testing on Thursday to be accepted for at least the first two NAB Challenge games.
Coburg’s Michael Hartley, a former Pies rookie, is also expected to be plucked by Essendon, which now needs only four or five more players to make a pre-season quorum.
Mitch Brown at Trevor Barker Oval. Picture: Chris Eastman
In all 25 Essendon players will either sit out because of infraction notices or preserve the privacy of those on the list in 2012.
Brown’s chance had seemingly passed him by after six years at Geelong, while Magner endured a troubled relationship at Melbourne with Mark Neeld, now at Essendon.
But the Dons believe they have a blend of key position talent, inside muscle and tagging prowess to fill their holes with those 25 players unavailable.
If Essendon players are suspended en masse ahead of Round 1 their ragtag bunch of recruits all have a chance to reignite their AFL careers.
They will be secured only up until the second NAB Challenge game at this stage but footy manager Rob Kerr on Tuesday night said the club needed to start making contingencies for the AFL season.
Jared Petrenko in action for Adelaide’s SANFL team. Picture: Sarah Reed
Western Bulldog Stewart Crameri and Port Adelaide’s Patrick Ryder and Angus Monfries will not play NAB Challenge given infraction notices.
Kerr said details of compensation for the players’ state-league clubs would be worked through in coming days if they were injured playing at Essendon.
“Once the announcement was made on Friday a lot of players agents and players were pretty proactive in making it known they would like the opportunity to play,’’ he told SEN Radio.
“In fairness to (St Kilda and GWS) we have given them a guide as to what our squad will look like but one of the things about the players we wanted to bring in is we wanted them to be hungry for the opportunity and to feel like they still had more to offer AFL football.
Michael Hartley in action for Coburg. Picture: Adam Elwood
“One of our strong criteria was we wanted them to be keen to do well. Obviously there are some challenges around the game plan but we will do our best on the day.”
The AFL has given Essendon a salary cap dispensation to pay the players during the NAB Challenge but that does not extend to the season proper.
Essendon’s preparation for the season proper will be clearly hampered, but Kerr said coach James Hird was working desperately hard to train his players for Round 1.
“The (AFL anti-doping tribunal) has indicated to us they require four weeks to review the evidence and it’s really important we get the right decision and if that is the length of time they need so be it.
“But it is important our supporters are confident what while we have focused on getting players to help us in the NAB Challenge, we are giving our players the best pre-season we can although they won’t be in the NAB Challenge.”
And as for Walla:
Dons downplay Zaharakis knee injury
Feb 20, 2015 11:44AM
Matt Thompson and Nat Edwards with Friday Footy Feed
David Zaharakis has injured his knee during match simulation
Related
A KNEE injury to star Bomber David Zaharakis has sent a scare through the Essendon camp.
Zaharakis went down clutching his right knee after falling awkwardly in a tackle laid by one of Essendon’s potential VFL top-up players, Anthony Tipungwuti.
The midfielder was carted off the ground alongside club doctor Bruce Reid and went into the rooms to receive treatment.
But the Bombers later downplayed the injury, saying Zaharakis only sustained a minor tweak to his right knee.
Despite the injury looking serious, Essendon high performance football manager Neil Craig told AFL.com.au the star midfielder does not need scans and the expectation is that he will be fit to train on Monday.
“It’s a training session, so you don’t take any risks. There was a bit of a crash early in the first drill,” Craig said.
“That happens every session. We don’t take any risks at all. We don’t expect there to be any issues out of it.”
He was later seen with ice on his knee.
Youngster Will Hams was another casualty during an intense practice match on Friday morning, succumbing to an ankle injury.
Hams, who has dealt with his fair share of injury issues in the past, also left the track in a cart before gingerly hobbling towards the changerooms with medical staff.
Craig said the Bombers believe Hams’ ankle injury was not as serious as it looked.
He later left the club on crutches.
“With those sorts of things you’ve got to wait a couple of days before things settle down a couple of days after (the incident),” Craig said.
“But at the moment the indication is that he’s OK.”
Nippy forward Travis Colyer was the clear standout in the practice match, where his speed and improved kicking were on show.
Jackson Merrett was prominent on a wing, Brendon Goddard’s ball use was first rate, and former Crow Shaun McKernan’s strength up forward was noticeable.
Jobe Watson, Jake Carlisle, David Myers, Michael Hurley and Adam Cooney were among the players not participating in the practice game.
The Bombers’ ‘top-up’ players in former Saint Clint Jones, ex-Cat Mitch Brown and ex-Demon James Magner did not take part in the session, with Craig saying he expects the trio to join in training on Monday.
The other potential candidate – Coburg’s Michael Hartley – failed his medical test and will not join the club for the NAB Challenge.
“We’ve just got to make sure all the correct procedures and protocols are ticked off first,” Craig said.
"Those guys will train once we’ve got all the paperwork done. There’s things like insurance, there’s got to be some contractual paperwork done.
“We think those guys will hopefully start to train on Monday.”
Dyson Heppell’s younger brother Aaron, highly-rated VFL ruckman Sam Tagliabue, former Lion James Polkinghorne and Tipungwuti played in the practice match on Friday and Craig said all four were being considered as replacement players.
Craig said former Cat Jordan Schroder, who is on Essendon’s VFL list, was also in the mix for a spot.
“They’ve all been identified, so they were all pretty excited,” Craig said.
"They’ll have a couple of weeks to impress at training to push their case to play in the NAB Challenge.
"It’s a great opportunity for them. We appreciate what they’re doing for our footy club.
“Our responsibility is to try to put out the most competitive side as we can against the AFL clubs. We owe that to the other teams in terms of their preparation.”
Essendon plays its first NAB Challenge game against St Kilda at Morwell on March 7.
